Italian tax police smash £70m piracy ring
Italian tax police claim to have broken up one of Europe's biggest piracy operations and charged 181 people for offences under Italian copyright law.
Italian tax police claim to have broken up one of Europe's biggest piracy operations and charged 181 people for offences under Italian copyright law.
Link: One-in-five companies undertake anti-piracy audit
In raids the police allegedly found illegally copied software, music and film, including Microsoft software, the latest Robbie Williams album and current films such as Die Another Day.
The Business Software Alliance said 10,300 customers and associates are also being investigated across Europe.
‘This is a very good result,’ said Nico Galtieri, anti-piracy consultant for BSA in Italy.
‘This showed how a combined operation can work when everyone co-operates. They had CD recorders going six hours a day for 200 days of the year, it was a major piracy ring in operation.’
The group have been charged with illegally copying products and then selling them using web sites and mailing lists.
The BSA has estimated the group’s annual turnover of ? ¬100m. Under Italian law the gang could be liable for twice the market value of the material they stole, if found guilty.
During the investigation, dubbed Operation Mouse, 12 websites and 28 email accounts were monitored and intercepted by the Green Berets unit of Milan’s Rapid Reaction Force (Compagnia di Pronto Impiego), a division of the Italian financial police.
In the past decade, the professional services industry has transformed significantly. Digital disruptions, increased competition, and changing market ...
View resourceIn recent months, professional services firms are facing more pressure than ever to deliver value to clients. Often, clients look at the firms own inf...
View resourceIn a world of instant results and automated workloads, the potential for AP to drive insights and transform results is enormous. But, if you’re still ...
View resourceThe first phase of Making Tax Digital (MTD) saw the requirement for the digital submission of the VAT Return using compliant software. That’s now behi...
View resourceStatic budgets outdated. Embrace agile budgeting for a smooth year-end close and adapt to changing markets. Read More...
View articleSaffery Champness's strategic rebrand to "Saffery" reflects a bold step towards aligning its historic values with a modern, innovative ethos, fosterin...
View articleSumer’s CEO Warren Mead believes accountants have a responsibility to champion smaller and medium-sized businesses and that successful entrepreneurs a...
View articleMid-market firms experience largest percentage increase in fee income in 2023, as consultancy services start to become leading income streams for the ...
View articleBaker Tilly International has today announced record global revenues of US$5.2bn for the financial year ended 31 December 2023, up 11% on the previous...
View articleWhilst Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) account for around half of the turnover in the UK private sector[1], our own AAT research shows that over a...
View articleGrant Thornton UK as confirmed the appointment of Malcolm Gomersall as its new Chief Executive Officer. Gomersall, who has been with the firm for over...
View articlePersonas is an internal AI platform meticulously developed by BDO to boost productivity and streamline day-to-day tasks. Read More...
View article